Heterogeneous Mesh Network and a Multi-RAT Node Used Therein

ABSTRACT

This invention discloses a heterogeneous mesh network comprised of multiple radio access technology nodes, wherein nodes can function dynamically, switching roles between client and server. Moreover, these nodes can operate in a heterogeneous fashion with respect to one another. In an alternate embodiment, the invention describes a mesh network comprised of nodes operating over TV white-space. This invention additionally discloses self-organizing network embodiments and embodiments that include novel methods of monitoring operational parameters within a mesh network, adjusting those operational parameters, and creating and implementing routing tables.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of, and claims the benefit under 35U.S.C. §120 of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/889,631, entitled“Heterogeneous Mesh Network and a Multi-RAT Node Used Therein” and filedMay 8, 2013, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of each ofU.S. Provisional App. No. 61/705,440, entitled “Multi-Access andBackhaul Wireless Systems and Methods” filed Sep. 25, 2012; U.S.Provisional App. No. 61/784,002, entitled “Method of DynamicallyAltering Operational Parameters of a Base Station,” filed Mar. 14, 2013;and U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 61/812,119, entitled “HeterogeneousMesh Network and a Multi-RAT Node Used Therein,” filed Apr. 15, 2013,each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present application relates to mesh networks, wireless meshnetworks, heterogeneous mesh networks, self-organizing networks, andmethods of creating the same.

BACKGROUND

Mesh networks have existed on the fringe of the IT world since the early1980's. See generally Power Source Online, Mesh Networks, KristinMasters March 2010.http://www.powersourceonline.com/magazine/2010/03/mesh-networks. Recentadvancements in wireless technology have promoted further exploration ofapplications for mesh networks; they hold extensive promise for richapplications such as sensor networks. Id.

Typically, a wireless mesh network operates in a homogeneous fashion,meaning that the nodes within the network share certain traits enablingcommunication between them. An example of this could be a wireless meshnetwork operating on a Wi-Fi protocol.

Before there were wireless communications, telephone calls were placedover wired infrastructure. For wired telephony, there were differentwire-line protocols, e.g., ATM and TDM, that the telephone exchangessought to connect. One way to interconnect these disparate networks wasto create gateways that could bridge together the different networks.Although these gateways provided a bridge between networks, it is notalways possible for a gateway to transparently connect different nodesfrom different networks without needing to emulate missing features onone network or to suppress unique features from another. This gatewayparadigm has been used in wireless technology as well, one example beinga personal Wi-Fi portable access point that connects to the Internetusing a 3G or 4G cellular data connection.

Recently, some have studied the benefits of connecting heterogeneousmesh networks. For example, You, L. et al., noted “One of the key issuesis networking, which means to interconnect lots of networks, such asinternet, cellular networks, wireless sensor networks (ZigBee),wireless-fidelity networks (Wi-Fi), social networks, etc.” FHMESH: AFlexible Heterogeneous Mesh Networking Platform, You, L. et al, IEEESixth International Conference on Mobile Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks,Dec. 20, 2010. This paper noted that finding an efficient way tointerconnect these networks is an ongoing challenge in the CyberPhysical Systems field. Id. The authors of this paper designed a“platform utilize[ing] WMN technology to interconnect heterogeneousnetworks, and buil[t] gateways based on SDR technology.” Id.

Others who have sought to combine heterogeneous mesh networks have takena similar tack. For example, heterogeneous interfaces for mesh networkstypically consist of gateways that act as bridges between the twoseparate mesh networks. These gateways often employ Software DefinedRadio “SDR” technologies. In effect, these gateways act as translatorsbetween the two disparate mesh networks. The individual nodes in the twodisparate mesh networks, however, do not communicate directly with oneanother. They can only communicate via the gateway.

There are many benefits to creating heterogeneous mesh networksincluding increasing capacity without increasing costs. Increasedcapacity is desirable under many scenarios including in emergencysituations such as the Sep. 11, 2001 attack on New York City, hurricanesKatrina and Sandy, and most recently, the Boston Marathon bombings. Inthe eleven-plus years that have transpired between the 9/11 events andthe recent Boston Marathon bombing, there have been enormous advancesmade in wireless communications. Reliability and capacity have increasedtremendously during that timeframe. But in emergency situations,cellular networks are still not able to handle the increased demand fortelephone and data services.

“Toward the bottom of the list of disturbing aspects about Monday'sbombing at the Boston Marathon was this: Cellular networks in the areaalmost immediately slowed down and, for periods of time, appeared tostop working altogether. Runners and their loved ones could not connect,and victims had trouble communicating with emergency responders. Thatfrustrating scene has become familiar, evoking disasters from theSeptember 11th attacks in 2001 to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. We rely oncell phones to run our lives, but they tend to be useless—or at leastfar from useful—when we need them most. . . . The science behind thesefailures in wireless connectivity isn't complicated. In every city, eachmobile carrier operates hundreds or thousands of cell towers, whichroute calls and data to the carrier's backbone network. Each tower isdesigned to accommodate a set number of calls per second, per a certaingeographic area. In a crisis, when everyone naturally reaches for theirphone, that limit is quickly surpassed and the radios on the tower getsluggish. Mobile analyst Chetan Sharma, who estimates that a cell sitecan handle 150 to 200 calls per second per sector: ‘We've all had theexperience of a fast-busy signal. That is the network telling you,“Sorry, but your cell is overloaded. There is no more space.’” BradStone, Why Cell Phone Networks Fail in Emergencies, BloombergBusinessweek Technology, Apr. 16, 2013.http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-16/why-cell-phone-networks-fail-in-emergencies

In order to increase capacity and utilize all possible resourcespresently available, it is desirable to create a heterogeneous meshnetwork where the nodes themselves provide the heterogeneity. If, forexample, in the minutes after the bombing at the Boston Marathon,traffic had been rerouted, not to user's designated backhaul locations,but instead to backhaul locations that were geographically further away,e.g., Cambridge, South Boston, or Chelsea, there would have been morebackhaul available on these networks to facilitate data transmission.The present invention addresses this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention discloses a heterogeneous mesh network comprised ofmultiple radio access technology nodes. In this heterogeneous meshnetwork, nodes can function dynamically, switching roles between clientand server or simultaneously acting as both client and server. Moreover,these nodes can operate in a heterogeneous fashion with respect to oneanother. In an alternate embodiment, the invention describes a meshnetwork comprised of nodes operating over TV white-space. The nodes ofthis white-space mesh network could, in alternate embodiments, operatein a heterogeneous fashion or could dynamically switch roles betweenclient and server. These nodes could in alternate embodiments becomemulti access radio technology nodes.

This invention additionally discloses self-organizing networkembodiments that can be implemented in the heterogeneous mesh networksor in a white-space mesh network. In the embodiments described herein,data within the network can become agnostic in terms of its protocol. Assuch, embodiments of the invention also include novel methods ofmonitoring operational parameters within a mesh network, adjusting thoseoperational parameters, and creating and implementing routing tables.

In additional embodiments, this invention allows the creation of uniquerouting protocols, in part because of the agnostic nature of the data.These routing protocols can facilitate distributed computation ofnetwork topology and/or path determination. Specifically, when agnosticdata are routed within the networks created herein, it is possible touse the transmission capabilities of the multi access radio technologiesfor data generated from, or destined to, a wide variety of radiocommunication protocols, frequencies, duplexing schemes, and the like.Accordingly, additional embodiments of the present invention includemethods of routing data within a heterogeneous mesh network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example multi-RAT node for deploymentwithin a mesh network.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an example heterogeneous mesh network ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the architecture of select layers of adevice used within a mesh network described in various embodimentsherein.

FIG. 4 illustrates examples of routing protocols that can be used invarious embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although mesh networks have been deployed in the past, these networkshave not contained nodes capable of: (1) operating on white-spacefrequencies; (2) dynamically switching roles; (3) autonomously usingself-organizing network (“SON”) techniques; and (4) operating within aheterogeneous environment. The present invention, and embodimentsdescribed herein include systems, networks, apparatuses, and methodsrealizing these capabilities.

The embodiments of this invention differ conceptually from prior artgateway paradigms because the custom designed layer stacks of thisinvention abstract the protocols that make each radio technology unique,thereby creating an agnostic data set that can be seamlessly routedthroughout a wireless network. In other words, in the embodimentsdescribed herein, we have created an adaptation layer that spans all MAClayers so that we can bridge between heterogeneous access layers. Inembodiments of this invention, individual nodes operating on differentprotocols, different frequencies, different hardware manifestations, ordifferent duplexing schemes can be part of a dynamic mesh network. Thisdynamic mesh network uses a single routing table for heterogeneous nodescontained within the mesh network.

Mesh Networks

The term “mesh network” is typically defined as a network comprised oftwo or more nodes wherein the nodes act as routers. Illustratively, anonline encyclopedia from PC Magazine defines a mesh network as follows:“(1) [a] network that relies on all nodes to propagate signals. Althoughthe wireless signal may start at some base station (access point)attached to a wired network, a wireless mesh network extends thetransmission distance by relaying the signal from one computer toanother. . . . (2) A network that provides Wi-Fi connectivity within anurban or suburban environment. It comprises ‘mesh routers,’ which are acombination base station (access point) and router in one device. Alsocalled ‘mesh nodes,’ they are typically installed on street light poles,from which they obtain their power.” PC Mag.com Encyclopedia,http:www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/54776/wireless-mesh-network

Similarly, another online source states: mesh “networks rely on a seriesof nodes that transfer data wirelessly. Each node acts as an individualrouter, so the network can constantly reroute data to take advantage ofthe best pathways. It allows information to ‘hop’ from one node toanother, circumventing blocked or broken paths in the network. Unlikeother wireless networks, mesh networks use nodes that are all fullyconnected to one another, so the nodes are not mobile, but they can beeasily configured to form ad hoc networks.” Power Source Online, MeshNetworks, Kristin Masters March 2010.http://www.powersourceonline.com/magazine/2010/03/mesh-networks

As used in this application, we define the term “dynamic mesh node” as amesh node that is capable of playing a dynamic role within a network. Adynamic role could mean, by way of example, being capable of being aclient with respect to one node and a server with respect to anothernode in the network. Dynamic can also mean switching radio accesstechnologies. Prior art mesh nodes did not have the ability to play adynamic role within a network. Rather, as can be seen from the above twodefinitions, mesh nodes acted as a base station access point and router.These roles were predetermined. The nodes within the mesh networks didnot dynamically function as a client to one node, and a server toanother, nor did they dynamically change transmit frequencies orprotocols, for example.

Multiple Radio Access Technology (“Multi-RAT”) Nodes

The concept of multiple radio access technology will also be defined.The term “radio access technology” indicates the type of radiotechnology used to access a core network. Multiple radio accesstechnology, or multi-RAT, is a radio technology capable of operating invarying parameters. These varying radio parameters could be, forexample, different protocols, different duplexing schemes, wired versuswireless, disparate frequency bands, and the like.

By disparate frequency bands, we mean frequencies from differentcategories of standards, or from generally accepted frequency ranges fora given technology. For example, the Wi-Fi protocol standard iscurrently authorized for use at two different frequencies in the UnitedStates, 5 GHz according to the 802.1a standard and 2.4 GHz according tothe 802.1b standard. However, the message format, media access method,etc. are identical regardless of the frequency used. Thus, in ourlexicography, a device that could communicate using Wi-Fi at both 5 GHzand 2.4 GHz would not be a multi-RAT device or node because both ofthese frequencies are considered within the art to represent instancesof the Wi-Fi protocol. An example of a radio capable of operating indisparate frequency bands would be a radio that could work in a Wi-Fiband of either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz and that same radio could also operateat 700 MHz or any other cellular frequency band, which requires adifferent media access method and/or a different message format. Thistype of a radio is an example of a multi-RAT node.

Similarly, we use the term “heterogeneous mesh network” to mean at leasttwo dynamic mesh nodes capable of: using different protocols, ordifferent duplexing schemes, or operating in disparate frequency bands,or using different transmit/receive mediums, such as wired versuswireless. Different protocols may include Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G, WCDMA, LTE,LTE Advanced, ZigBee, or Bluetooth. Different duplexing schemes mayinclude time division, code division, and frequency division schemes.Disparate frequency bands may include so-called “whitespace,” VHF andUHF channels, cellular telephony bands, public safety bands, and thelike.

The multi-RAT nodes of the present invention have hardware, firmware,and software aspects. Focusing first on the hardware aspects, FIG. 1shows hardware that could be used in embodiments of this invention. Inan embodiment, a multi-RAT node 100 is comprised of at least oneprocessor 110, access hardware 120, backhaul hardware 130, an RFfront-end 140, and a timing source 150. By way of example, the at leastone processor 110 could contain firmware written in Linux. Additionally,the RF front-end 140 can be configured to provide RF capabilities formultiple radio access technologies.

In one embodiment, the timing source could be GPS. Alternatively, thetiming source could be derived from the Ethernet, or an IEEE 1588source, such as SyncE, PTP/1588v2, and the like. In an alternateembodiment, wherein one multi-RAT node 100 may have access to GPS time,but another multi-RAT node 100 may be indoors, the two multi-RAT nodes100 could use differential time synching techniques well known to thoseof skill in the art so that the indoor multi-RAT node 100 could sync itstiming with that of the outdoor multi-RAT node 100. In anotherembodiment, the multi-RAT node 100 could be a dynamic multi-RAT node.

In alternate embodiments, the at least one processor 110, could bebroken down into an access processor 112, a backhaul processor 114, acommon processor 116, or any combination thereof. In this embodiment,the access hardware 120 is coupled to the at least one processor 110. Inan alternate embodiment, having a separate access processor 112, theaccess hardware 120 could be coupled to the access processor 112, to theat least one processor 110, or to the common processor 116, or anycombination thereof. Similarly, in another alternate embodiment, havinga separate backhaul processor 114, the backhaul hardware 130 could becoupled to the backhaul processor 114, to the common processor 110, orto the common processor 116, or any combination thereof.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that access and backhaulhardware will vary depending on the access or backhaul protocol orfrequency being used to perform access or backhaul. By way of example,if a particular multi-RAT node 100 was designed to perform access on LTEand Wi-Fi, it could have the radio access technology components thatwould perform access on these two different protocols. For LTE access,the access hardware 120 could be comprised of: a baseband processor andCPU cores for the firmware. The baseband processor could generatedigital RF signals, which are modulated by the RF front end 140. Theseprocessors could be connected to the RF front end 140 via common publicradio interfaces. Alternatively, some or all of the necessary radioaccess technology may incorporate Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS)hardware/firmware devices, such as conventional Wi-Fi access hardwarebased on Atheros chips with embedded firmware and one or more externalantennas.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that multiple hardwareconfigurations could be used depending upon the access protocol,backhaul protocol, duplexing scheme, or operating frequency band byadding or replacing daughter cards to the dynamic multi-RAT node 100.Presently, there are off-the-shelf radio cards that can be used for thevarying radio parameters. Accordingly, the multi-RAT nodes 100 of thepresent invention could be designed to contain as many radio cards asdesired given the radio parameters of heterogeneous mesh networks withinwhich the multi-RAT node 100 is likely to operate. Those of skill in theart will recognize that, to the extent an off-the shelf radio card isnot available to accomplish transmission/reception in a particular radioparameter, a radio card capable of performing, e.g., in white spacefrequencies, would not be difficult to design.

Similarly, in the present invention, we describe how to make and use theinventions operating within well-known industry protocols. To the extentthat additional protocols are adopted in the future, the teachingsherein would be equally applicable. Additionally, if a person of skillin the art were to modify an already known protocol, such as LTE, andmake it into a proprietary LTE protocol, for example, the teachings ofthis patent application would be equally applicable; and embodimentsdescribed herein could be adapted to accommodate this proprietaryprotocol.

Self-Organizing Network “SON”

Those of skill in the art will recognize that the term “SON” is afrequently used concept, but one that is devoid of a standard way ofimplementing the principles of self-organization that the monikerimplies. As a result, SON embodies principles of self-organization,typically performed by those skilled in the art using proprietaryarchitecture. Given that there are no true heterogeneous mesh networksto date, SON functionality, naturally, is being implemented onhomogeneous networks.

In the present invention, because most of the mesh networks describedherein are heterogeneous, it follows naturally that any SONimplementations would be able to operate in a heterogeneous network.Against this backdrop, we use the term “SON” throughout this applicationto mean the traditional functionality of SON, i.e., self-organization,self-optimization, auto-configuration, self-healing, and the like,applied on a heterogeneous network as that term is used throughout thispatent application. The SON principles described herein could also beused on the white-space embodiments discussed infra.

For illustrative purposes, we will describe SON functionality in anexemplary wireless mesh network 200 shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment,multi-RAT node 210 is providing access on LTE, multi-RAT node 220 isproviding access on Wi-Fi, and multi-RAT node 230 is providing access on3G. In this embodiment, the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, 230 could be usingWi-Fi backhaul. As such, this network 200 is a heterogeneous meshnetwork. In this heterogeneous mesh network, multi-RAT node 230 has awired connection 235 to a computing cloud 240. Multi-RAT node 230 has awireless connection 225 to multi-RAT node 220 and a wireless connection217 to multi-RAT node 210. Additionally, multi-RAT node 220 has awireless connection 215 to multi-RAT node 210. These connections areexemplary and could be altered in alternate embodiments. Additionally,heterogeneous mesh networks of the present invention could include moreor less than the three exemplary multi-RAT nodes pictured in FIG. 2.

The SON architecture, discussed more fully with reference to FIG. 3, isdistributed between a computing cloud 240 and the multi-RAT nodes 210,220, 230. In one embodiment of SON functionality, the computing cloud240 queries the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, 230 regarding environmentalconditions, e.g., interference, capacity, spectrum efficiency, routingpath, network congestion, and the like. The multi-RAT nodes 210, 220,230 respond by sending the requested parameters to the computing cloud240. The computing cloud 240 processes these responses so that it caninstruct the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, 230 to change an operationalparameter thereby better optimizing the performance of the heterogeneousmesh network 200. In these embodiments, operational parameters could bepower level, channel, frequency band, spectrum reuse, as well as access,backhaul, client, or server, or routing paths.

In these embodiments, it is possible for a multi-RAT node 210, 220, or230 to change an operational parameters because of the custom designedarchitecture 300 described infra. For illustrative purposes only, in onesituation, the computing cloud 240 may determine that the heterogeneousmesh network 200 is experiencing interference. In response, thecomputing cloud 240 may instruct multi-RAT nodes 210 and 230 to reducetheir power output.

In another embodiment, the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, or 230 can alsomake decisions independent of the computing cloud 240 regarding whetherto change an operational parameter because they also have customdesigned architecture 300. In one of these embodiments, for example, themulti-RAT nodes 210, 220, or 230 could be pre-authorized to changechannels if a certain interference threshold is crossed. Multi-RAT nodescould also contain the intelligence within their custom designedarchitecture 300 to be able to coordinate a handoff between them if oneof their users is beginning to move into an area that would be betterserved by one of the other nodes in the network.

In another SON scenario, multi-RAT node 210 may be using its Wi-Fi radiofor access and its LTE radio for backhaul. The computing cloud 240 maydetermine that multi-RAT node 210 is experiencing a backlog on theaccess side and that it could increase its efficiency by takingadvantage of the greater downlink capacity built into the LTE standard.The computing cloud 240 could therefore instruct multi-RAT node 210 todynamically switch roles, i.e., the LTE radio in multi-RAT node 210should be used for backhaul and the Wi-Fi radio in multi-RAT node 210should be used for access.

In similar embodiments, the computing cloud 240 could provide additionalfloating spectrum to one or more of the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, or 230to increase network capacity, to adhere to QoS requirement, toefficiently reuse spectrum, and the like.

In another embodiment, two multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, or 230 may beoperating within close proximity to one another. For illustrativepurposes, assume node 210 was servicing Verizon customers and node 220was servicing AT&T customers. If multi-RAT node 210 reached apre-determined capacity threshold, it could coordinate with multi-RATnode 220 to hand off some of its Verizon customers, who are operating ina different frequency band, to multi-RAT node 220. Multi-RAT node 220could then provide service to customers of both Verizon and AT&T on twodifferent frequency bands. Some of the criteria that could be used todetermine if this type of frequency shifting among the multi-RAT nodes210, 220, or 230 should occur are: (1) resource loads, e.g., DSP power,getting busy on one node; (2) one node may have better externalresources, e.g., back-up power, wired backhaul, greater antenna height,optimum direction of antenna for a given coverage zone, and the like;and (3) similar key performance indicators that are well known in theart.

In this embodiment, once multi-RAT node 220 has been provisioned toprovide services on two different frequencies, it must coordinate withmulti-RAT node 210 by sharing information such as, traffic details, calldetails, RF quality measurements, and so forth. These nodes 210 and 220,which could be two or could be many, can add or remove frequency bandsand can coordinate with each other to force user equipment handoffs toaccommodate the change in the frequency scheme. In an alternateembodiment, the computing cloud 240 could manage the transfer of someVerizon customers to a multi-RAT node.

In another embodiment of this invention, a multi-RAT node 210, 220, or230 may employ a method of increasing capacity by reducing its outputpower output thereby taking advantage of spectral reuse. In thisembodiment, a multi-RAT node 210, for example, monitors its capacity.When it begins to reach a maximum capacity threshold, it could requestpermission from the computing cloud 240 to decrease its power output,thereby increasing capacity. Upon receiving this request, the computingcloud 240 could determine whether to grant the request. Some of thefactors that the computing cloud 240 could take into consideration whenmaking this determination are radio bearer utilization, QoS, operatorpolicies, and capacity considerations of other multi-RAT nodes in themesh network.

In this embodiment, once the computing cloud 240 reaches a decisionregarding the request to decrease power, the computing cloud 240 informsthe multi-RAT node 210 of its decision. If the request if granted, thecomputing cloud 240 directs the multi-RAT node 210 to prepare to handoffany UE sessions that will be in a coverage gap once it reduces itsoutput power. Optionally, the multi-RAT node 210 could query UE on itsnetwork to obtain measurement reports of other multi-RAT nodes 220 or230, for example, who may be able to absorb part of the coverage gap. Inthis embodiment, the multi-RAT node 210 could provide this informationto the computing cloud 240.

Once the computing cloud 240 has directed the multi-RAT node 210 toprepare to handoff some UEs, it then directs one or more selectedmulti-RAT nodes 220 or 230 to increase its/their power, therebyincreasing coverage. After the instructed multi-RAT node 220 or 230 hasincreased its power, it may update virtualization manager data withradio bearer capacity reduction information. The multi-RAT node 220 or230 could then send the updated virtualization manager to computingcloud 240. After receiving this information, the computing cloud 240virtualization manager may then direct the requesting multi-RAT node 210to gracefully handoff in-progress UE sessions to other availablemulti-RAT nodes 220 or 230 in its neighborhood. Once the handoffs arecompleted, the requesting multi-RAT node 210 reduces its power toprovide more capacity to UEs in its network. Optionally, this multi-RATnode 210 may update the virtualization manager with the resulting radiobearer capacity increase information and provide the updatedvirtualization manager to computing cloud 240.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a multi-RAT node 210,220, or 230 in a mesh network may employ a method of increasing itscoverage area by, for example, increasing power output. In thisembodiment, a multi-RAT node 210 for example may monitor at least onenetwork parameter and determine that a neighboring multi-RAT node 220 or230 has ceased to function properly. After making this determination,the multi-RAT node 210 may contact the computing cloud 240 to report themalfunctioning multi-RAT node 220 or 230. The computing cloud 240 maythen analyze the radio bearer utilization, QoS, operator policies andcapacity considerations of other multi-RAT nodes 220 or 230 in the mesh.Using its measurements and internal logic, the computing cloud 240 couldthen determine if any of the multi-RAT nodes 220 or 230 within the meshnetwork can increase power output to provide more coverage.

In another embodiment, one of the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, or 230 may,for example, be malfunctioning. In this embodiment, the computing cloud240 could determine if one or more of the other multi-RAT nodes is ableto fill the coverage gap caused by the malfunctioning node. Thecomputing cloud 240 could coordinate with the functioning multi-RATnodes so that at least one of them increases power, thereby extendingcoverage. After the coverage area has been extended, the multi-RAT nodes210, 220, or 230 may update the virtualization manager with theresulting radio bearer capacity reduction information. Additionally, inthis embodiment, the multi-RAT node(s) 210, 220, or 230 may have tohandoff UE sessions in progress gracefully to other neighboringmulti-RAT nodes in order to effectively extend coverage.

In alternate embodiments of this method, multi-RAT nodes may 210, 220,or 230 dynamically increase the transmit power of a single sector ormultiple sector radio bearer based, for example, on Signal-to-NoiseRatio (SNR) reports and/or location determination. This power adjustmentmay be performed in coordination with neighboring multi-RAT nodes, whocorrespondingly decrease their transmit power of the single sector ormultiple sector radio bearer. A multi-RAT node 210, 220, or 230 mayperform this functionality by directly communicating with neighboringmulti-RAT nodes or in coordination with the computing cloud 240.

In an alternate embodiment, the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, and 230 couldoperate on white-space frequencies. As those of skill in the art willrecognize, using white-space frequencies for communication requiresflexibility in terms of pre-selecting an operational frequency so as toavoid interference with other white-space devices. Because thewhite-space spectrum is unlicensed, it must be shared among potentialusers. In this embodiment, the multi-RAT nodes 210, 220, and 230 coulduse spectrum sensing techniques to determine which portion of thewhite-space spectrum is available for use. In an alternate embodiment,the multi-RAT nodes 220, 220, and 230 could query a database containingfrequency availability based on location, time, and the like. Thisdatabase could be stored within any or all of the multi-RAT nodes 210,220, and 230, in the computing cloud 240, or in a remote location.

FIG. 3 shows a custom designed architecture 300 that can be used inembodiments of the heterogeneous mesh networks of this invention.Specifically, the custom designed architecture 300 of these embodimentsbuilds upon the well-known Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3, Control Layer,Application Layer, and Management Layer architecture of the prior art.

In our custom designed architecture 300, we add an abstraction layer340, a SON module 330, and in addition add customizations to the othermodules so that they can interoperate with the abstraction layer 340 andthe SON module 330. Specifically, our custom designed architecture 300includes a management layer 380, an application layer 310, a controllayer 320, and an abstraction layer 340. The abstraction layer 340 iscommunicatively coupled to at least one radio. For example, theembodiment of FIG. 3 shows three multi access technology radios. One ofthese radios is an LTE radio 370. One is a Wi-Fi radio 360. And thethird is radio technology X 350. Once there are at least two radioaccess technologies within a single node, the node becomes a multi-RATnode as described herein. As can be seen from FIG. 3, additional radios350 could be added to create multi-RAT nodes having X number of accesstechnologies.

The abstraction layer 340 provides a common API interface to the layersabove it. The abstraction layer 340 receives data from each of theradios beneath it and converts those data into protocol agnostic data.In some embodiments of the present invention, the SON module 330interfaces with the SON portion of a computing cloud 240 in order toperform network optimization.

In terms of customization of the modules within the control layer 320,the traffic control module 325 has the flexibility to create data queuesbased on priority without regard to radio access technology. Theautomatic neighbor relation management module 326 acts as an interfacebetween the multiple radio access technologies so that neighbors withina particular mesh network become aware of the various resources providedby each node within the network.

In some embodiments, the power management module 324 and/or the radioresource management module 322 can interface with the SON module 330 toincrease or decrease power, to change channels, and the like in order tooptimize network operating conditions.

For illustration, assume that the custom designed architecture 300 wasoperational on a multi-RAT node having two radio technologies, LTE 370and Wi-Fi 360. In this embodiment, data could be received through theLTE radio 370. These data would be received in Layer 1 of the LTE radio370. They would proceed up through Layer 2 and Layer 3 to theabstraction layer 340. The abstraction layer 340 would abstract theLTE-specific information from the data packet and would send a protocolagnostic data stream to the control layer 320. The control layer 320would then decide the routing, which in this case could be througheither the LTE radio 370 or the Wi-Fi radio 360. In embodiments of thepresent invention, multi-RAT nodes use and create distributed routingprotocols that perform L2 bridging through an abstraction layer.

Additional embodiments of the present invention include novel routingprotocols. In the prior art, routing was coupled to a specificoperational parameter, e.g., protocol, duplexing scheme, wired versuswireless, or frequency band. In the present invention, routing is nottethered to these operational parameters because multi-RAT nodesparticipate within a mesh network with disparate operational parameters.The abstraction layer 340, in essence, creates agnostic data packetsthat can be routed through any of the multi-RAT nodes within a givenheterogeneous mesh network.

In prior art mesh networks, nodes typically connected to adjacent peers.Referring to FIG. 2, adjacent peers could be 210 and 220, connectedwireless via 215, and 220 and 230, connected wirelessly via 225. Inembodiments of this invention, the nodes within a heterogeneous meshnetwork can have multiple connections such as multi-RAT node 230, whichcan connect to multi-RAT node 210 via connection pathways 225 and 215 orvia connection pathway 217. In alternate embodiments of a heterogeneousmesh network, there could be more than three nodes as pictured in FIG.2. In these embodiments, nodes that have multiple backhaul connections,e.g., multi-RAT node 230, could make dynamic decisions about the mosteffective connection paths for it to use at any given time. Thesedecisions could be based on any of the environmental conditionsdiscussed herein including, but not limited to interference, capacity,spectrum efficiency, routing path, network congestion, spectral reuse,throughput, latency, coverage gaps, signal-to-noise ratio,quality-of-service, spectral sensing for white space use, and the like.

In additional embodiments, this invention allows the creation of uniquerouting protocols, in part because of the agnostic nature of the data.These routing protocols can facilitate distributed computation ofnetwork topology and/or path determination. Specifically, when agnosticdata are routed within the networks created herein, it is possible touse the transmission capabilities of the multi access radio technologiesfor data generated from, or destined to, a wide variety of radiocommunication protocols, frequencies, duplexing schemes, and the like.

FIG. 4 illustrates the concept of the mesh routing protocols in theseembodiments. FIG. 4 depicts two multi-RAT nodes 410 and 420. In thisexemplary embodiment, multi-RAT node 410 can operate on LTE and Wi-Fi,while multi-RAT node 420 operates over LTE, Wi-Fi, and 3G. When themulti-RAT nodes 410 and 420 exchange the mesh routing protocols,multi-RAT node 410 may place LTE data as priority 1 and Wi-Fi data aspriority 2.

For purposes of illustration, we assume that, according to the currentmesh routing table, multi-RAT node 420 acts as a relay node formulti-RAT node 410. In this example, multi-RAT node 410 transmits a datastream 430 containing data packets having different radio parameters.For example, data packets could be priority 1 data packets 432, LTE inthis example, and priority 2 data packets 434, Wi-Fi in this example.When this data stream 430 is received at multi-RAT node 420, the packetswithin the data stream 420 retain their priority, but they are agnosticin terms of their radio parameters.

In a traditional mesh network, all of the multi-RAT nodes would have hadthe same radio parameters. Accordingly, when a routing node received adata stream, it would retransmit the packets on the same radio type asthat of its neighbor, who originally transmitted the data packet. In theheterogeneous mesh network of the present invention, the multi-RAT nodescontained therein are capable of transmitting and receiving in aheterogeneous fashion. As such, multi-RAT node 420 can relay these datapackets on any of its three available radio technologies, i.e., LTE,Wi-Fi, or 3G.

In this embodiment, a traffic control module 325 receives these datapackets and provides a priority indicator to each of the packets withinthe data stream 430. The SON module 330 stored within multi-RAT node420, or in alternate embodiments stored within the computing cloud 240,could queue these data packets to be retransmitted according to thepriority that has been ascribed to each specific data packet.Specifically, when multi-RAT node 420 receives data stream 430, it canutilize all three of its radio access technologies for retransmittingthe data stream 430. In one embodiment, multi-RAT node 420 could use itsLTE radio transmit channel 440 for transmitting priority 1 data packets.It could use its 3G radio transmit channel 460 for transmitting priority2 data packets. And it could divide the resources available from itsWi-Fi radio transmit channel 450 to transmit both priority 1 andpriority 2 data packets.

This allocation of resources is fluid and is a function of time andnetwork congestion, which is an environmental condition. If at a laterpoint in time, priority 1 data packets became backlogged, the SON module330 could alter an operational parameter such as using the 3G radiotransmit channel 460 to transmit priority 1 data and maintaining theWi-Fi transmit channel 450 as a shared resource for transmitting bothpriority 1 and priority 2 data.

Those of skill in the art will recognize that these radio resourcescould be used numerous different ways depending open things such asQuality of Service requirements including constraints on throughputand/or delay, subscriber agreements, network capacity, data congestion,efficient use of spectrum, and the like. Moreover, routing decisionscould be made based upon environmental conditions such as: interference,capacity, spectrum efficiency, routing path, network congestion,spectral reuse, throughput, latency, coverage gaps, signal-to-noiseratio, quality-of-service, spectral sensing for white space use, and thelike. Skilled artisans will also recognize that these decisions could bemade by multi-RAT nodes, the computing cloud, or jointly between thesedevices.

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplaryembodiments of the present invention. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics thereof. Various components in the devices describedherein may be added, removed, or substituted with those having the sameor similar functionality. Various steps as described in the figures andspecification may be added or removed from the processes describedherein, and the steps described may be performed in an alternativeorder, consistent with the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, thedisclosure of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, butnot limiting of the scope of the invention, as well as other claims. Thedisclosure, including any readily discernible variants of the teachingsherein, defines, in part, the scope of the foregoing claim terminology.

1. A multi-RAT node comprising: at least one processor for performingaccess, backhaul, and common functions; access hardware coupled to theat least one processor; backhaul hardware coupled to the at least oneprocessor; an RF front-end coupled to at least one of the accesshardware or the backhaul hardware; and a timing source.
 2. The multi-RATnode of claim 1, further comprising an abstraction layer.
 3. Themulti-RAT node of claim 1, wherein the multi-RAT node is a dynamicmulti-RAT node.
 4. A method of changing an operating parameter within amesh network comprising the steps of: querying at least a firstmulti-RAT node within the mesh network regarding an environmentalcondition; responding to the query by providing the environmentalcondition; analyzing the environmental condition; and determining if anyof the multi-RAT nodes within the mesh network should alter anoperational parameter.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprisingaltering the operational parameter.
 6. A computer readable mediumcomprising at least one processor configured to: query at least a firstmulti-RAT node within the mesh network regarding an environmentalcondition; respond to the query by providing the environmentalcondition; analyze the environmental condition; and determine if any ofthe multi-RAT nodes within the heterogeneous mesh network should alteran operational parameter.
 7. The computer readable medium of claim 6,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter theoperational parameter.